The Latest Intel on LSU's Cam Thomas NBA Draft Prospects
Where Cam Thomas falls on July 29 NBA draft is anybody's guess. He's been mocked as high as a late lottery selection or a high second round pick. The most popular range for Thomas has been in that mid to late 20s section of the draft where teams take chances on prospects who need some development.
That certainly could be a way to describe the LSU freshman in all but one way, his scoring. Thomas proved to be among college basketball's elite scorers during his lone season in Baton Rouge. He led the SEC in scoring at 23 points per game as he showed unlimited range and an elite ability to get to the rim, finish through contact and draw fouls.
In a recent piece for The Athletic, senor writer David Aldridge reached out to NBA executives and college coaches about a number of NBA draft prospects. A college assistant coach, whose team palyed the Tigers during the 2020-21 season compared Thomas' scoring abilities to Lou Williams.
"He’s Lou Williams all over again. Professional scorer. You wasn’t rattling Cam. … Today’s game is they’re going to find you if they can’t defend. He’s strong. He’s a strong kid. Offensively, he’s elite. He got better this year letting other people play with his toys in the sandbox," a college assistant coach who played LSU a season ago told Aldridge. "He’s going to have to play with some stars, where he can come in with the second group and do his thing. His legs are like oak trees. He don’t get fouled because he puts his head down; he knows how to get fouled. The rip through. He was shooting 10 free throws a game. He’s great at getting to his spots. Ropes in practice. He can shoot it from the (Damian Lillard) line. If you put him with the second team, he can get buckets like Cam Payne does. Cam brought the midrange back in college."
This is a spot on description of Thomas, who can get as hot as anybody in this class but the real sense of where he falls in this draft will be a team's willingness and ability to develop him as a playmaker and improve his defense as well. Those are two areas that Thomas simply must improve to become a consistent part of a rotation because when his shot's not falling, it could keep him off the floor.
Thomas will likely go to a place with an already established culture and playoff pedigree based on the projections of where he's expected to fall. Being patient with his development could pay huge dividends as one of the concensus feelings on him is that if he improves other aspects of his game, he could outplay his draft position.
